


All the Places I'd Go For You

by Salazar101



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anal Sex, Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:35:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salazar101/pseuds/Salazar101
Summary: Gabriel is taken from his life of poverty to live in an enchanted castle with a man named Jack who is a bear by daylight and a man by night, when Gabriel cannot see him.  His Mother raises doubts about why he hides in the night, and he can put these doubts to rest if he merely lights a tallow candle, can he not...?A Reaper76 retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49
Collections: Reaper76 Free For All Secret Santa 2020





	All the Places I'd Go For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [primalrage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/primalrage/gifts).



> For my giftee's third prompt: a fairy tale retelling. This fairy tale has been beloved to me since I was a child and I had a lot of fun putting Jack and Gabe in it

Gabriel was used to being hungry, and he was used to working hard. As the youngest of his siblings he was the only one left at home to help Ma out around the house and with the garden. Everyone else had found jobs to send back paychecks to help keep the family afloat. Yet even with that it was difficult. One brother they’d lost contact with, another had been injured at his stable job when a horse kicked him in the thigh. So they had only one paycheck from one last brother working as a servant, and whatever Pa could scrounge up doing odd jobs. It was a hard life, but it was  _ Gabriel’s _ and he thought that so long as they stuck together, they could survive it.

“Gabriel!”

He lifted his head, hands deep in the soil of their garden, pulling out stubborn weeds. Sometimes this food was all they had, so he considered gardening his most important chore. Still, when Ma called, he answered. “Yeah?” he came inside to see her pointing to the massive wooden washing bucket filled with clothes and groaned.

Laundry. His least favorite job.

“We need clean clothes to visit your brother in the infirmary, and I have to make dinner.”

Gabriel grabbed the washbin and grunted as he picked it up, muscles in his arms straining a bit at the weight of it. “I know, I know... I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

He carried the load down to the nearby river and kneeled down on the grass as he filled up the wash bin then started to drag the clothes over the board to knock free dirt and stains. Gabriel had once heard boys in town say that washing was a woman’s work, but he thought it had more to do with having money to hire washerwomen than being a woman. Rich folk could make claims about who did what job but poor folk? They just did the jobs. 

Laundry was miserable, back-breaking work and the chemicals Gabriel used to remove stains always chapped his hands, making his knuckles sometimes crack and bleed. As he was washing one of his own shirts he felt the back of his neck prickle, like he was being watched. Gabriel straightened up, glancing this way and that, trying to see if someone else had joined him on the bank.

No one. Still feeling caught off guard, Gabriel quickly finished the laundry and hauled everything back home to hang up outside to dry. Maybe he was just tired and hungry. He came inside to see Ma chopping veggies from the garden to throw into a thin soup, probably the ghost of the ghost of the ghost of chicken broth they’d been trying to milk out for months. When was the last time they’d had a  _ chicken _ ?

“We need more wood for the stove, could you chop some and stack it?” Ma asked without even looking at him.

Gabriel walked back outside without complaint, grabbing the ax and beginning to chop waiting logs into more manageable quarters. While he was working, stopping now and again to wipe sweat from his brow, his Pa arrived home. He pat Gabriel on the back before walking inside. He seemed... distracted. Gabriel paused in his chopping and slipped closer to the window as he heard his parents begin to speak quietly.

“...bad.”

“What?” Ma gasped. “How could they? Surely they know--”

“They know. They don’t care.”

“Where are we going to get the money?”

“I’ll join the King’s army.”

“No! You’re too old, you’ll be killed!” 

Gabriel felt his throat tighten at the thought. The one thing they still had was each other, were they about to lose that too?

“Maybe... maybe we can send Gabriel away? He’s smart and strong, he can make his own way.”

“No!”

Gabriel burst into the hut just as his Ma cried out. “No! I’m not leaving, Pa, we can work out... whatever this is! Money trouble? I’ll go into town, I’ll find odd jobs too. I can do odd jobs and help Ma out!”

“It’s not that simple,” Pa said, clearly trying to be patient but at the end of his own rope. “Your brother needs serious medical care for his leg, the money we need it’s--”

Gabriel opened his mouth to argue over top of him when they all froze as someone knocked politely at their front door. Who...? Pa shared a slightly concerned look with Gabriel before he ushered both him and Ma back so he could open the door. Standing just outside was a massive white bear, so big that really only his legs and chest could be seen through the doorway. Lowering his big head, Gabriel saw he had two massive scars on his face, one over his snout between his bright blue eyes and one over his lips.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” the bear spoke in a deep, gravelly voice, “but I have a proposition for you.”

Ma fainted.

The bear was too big to enter their hut, so after laying Ma down, Gabriel and Pa stepped outside to speak to him. “I... I don’t want any trouble,” Pa said.

“No trouble.” The bear spoke in a slightly clipped way. Almost rude, almost not. He stared past Pa straight at Gabriel. “I saw your son washing clothes by the river--” so he  _ was _ being watched-- “and I would like for him to come back to my home with me, in exchange, I will give you enough money to see all your troubles disappear.”

Pa took a protective step in front of Gabriel, “You want my  _ son _ ?”

“No harm will come to him,” the bear said, still meeting Gabriel’s eye just over Pa’s shoulder, “and he looks old enough to decide for himself.”

Gabriel nodded slowly, mind racing. Money was what they needed, a lot of it. With enough money everyone could come home, they could get a bigger home, some farm animals,  _ food _ . “What would you want with me?”

“Company,” the bear said simply.

“Gabriel...” his Pa turned, hands on his arms. “You don’t have to do this, we can find money some other way.”

Gabriel shook his head and gently pushed Pa to the side so he could approach the bear. “I will go with you, on the condition that I am allowed to return to see my family.”

The bear considered him for a moment then inclined his big head, there was a certain grace to all his movements. “As you wish. Climb up onto my back.”

Gabriel hesitated a moment. “Now? I don’t even get to say goodbye to Ma?”

The bear kneeled down to make it a little easier for Gabriel to climb on. “You will see her again, will you not? We must go quick if we are to make it before sundown.”

He supposed he didn’t have much of a choice now that he’d made a deal with the bear. He gave his Pa one quick hug then climbed up onto the bear’s back, sucking in a shuddering breath when he started to lope into the woods behind their home, leaving everything Gabriel had ever known behind. 

“Where are we going?” he yelled over the rushing of the wind as the bear ran deeper and deeper into the woods.

“Home.”

Gabriel supposed he couldn’t fault a  _ bear _ for not being very talkative, but he hoped he wasn’t getting whisked away by a magical animal to be bored for the rest of his life. They ran into the most ancient and dense part of the forest, where humans rarely ventured and magical creatures took refuge. The foliage of the trees was so thick that when Gabriel looked up he could not see the sky, but the land around him was lit by something more than the sun, it seemed, because he could see just fine.

The bear crested a small hill and finally slowed to a stop as before them a palace had appeared, nestled in amongst the old growth like it had always been there. Gabriel slid off the bear’s back with a sound of awe, barely noticing the cramping in his thighs from the long ride here. “This is where you live?”

“This is where you live now too,” the bear said as it lumbered up to the front door. It stood up and pushed the door open so Gabriel could follow in behind him. The entrance hall was grand, but Gabriel noticed that it was not lit by a single candle or oil lamp. Instead, the palace had windows on every wall that faced out, so all the light inside was natural.

“Do you have a name?” Gabriel realized he’d been too caught up to ask.

The bear looked over his shoulder at him, there seemed to be the slightest glint of amusement in his eyes. “Jack. Come, it’s getting late. Let me show you to the dining room, then your bedroom. Tomorrow I’ll give you a more thorough tour.”

“Why wait? I’m wide awake.” Gabriel placed his hand on the bear’s side as they walked down one of the long halls, looking this way and that. The walls were lined with art and tapestries, and though Gabriel knew a palace this size should be cold, and he saw no obvious fires to heat it, he was perfectly warm.

“Once it gets dark, you won’t be able to see anything.” Jack said.

The table in the dining room was already filled with food, the finest foods Gabriel could imagine. He turned on Jack, so quickly that the bear took a few steps back. “What’s the catch here?” he asked suspiciously.

“Catch?” Jack rumbled, stepping past Gabriel to sit down and slouch over to pick up food with massive claws, showing surprising delicacy. “No catch. You live here with me now, your family has received all the money they could ever need.”

Gabriel sat down across from Jack, “but you’re not going to... eat me? Or... I don’t know...”

Jack grinned, baring a snout-ful of huge fangs the size of Gabriel’s fingers. “I find the taste of humans doesn’t agree with me.”

It took a second for Gabriel to realize he was being messed with. “Oh... ha ha.” He finally started to serve himself up dinner, tasting a little of everything on the table just because he could. “You’re not really a bear, are you?”

Jack hummed, licking a bit of honey off one claw after he’d eaten a little cake drizzled with it. “I am what you can see I am.”

Magical beings. How exhausting.

After Gabriel had eaten his fill, Jack led him to a bedroom that was bigger than his family’s hut, with a huge bed sitting up against the wall, a wardrobe full of fine clothes that all seemed tailored to fit him, and the walls lined with thick tapestries as if to keep the heat in, though Gabriel had not once been cold since arriving. The palace was as magical as his host was.

“I will join you after it gets dark,” Jack said as he stood by the door while Gabriel explored. “Is there anything more I can bring you?”

“No...thank you.” Gabriel tried to imagine what it was going to be like sleeping in bed beside a huge bear and couldn’t. Just hoped Jack kept his claws to himself. He changed into a night shirt and crawled into bed after Jack had lumbered off to who knew where, the tapping of his claws on the stone fading away into the distance.

Gabriel stared up at the ceiling as it got dark outside, the light fading away until even with his eyes open he could see nothing but darkness. That was when he heard the door open. “Jack?”

“It’s me.”

No one else had a voice like that, but when the bed dipped it wasn’t a bear that joined him. Gabriel scrambled back in shock only to have his wrist grabbed, yanking him back down so he could be pinned against the mattress. “Calm down,” Jack growled, straddling Gabriel’s hips when he tried to buck away. “It’s just me.”

“You’re not a fucking  _ bear _ ,” Gabriel snarled, twisting his wrist out of Jack’s hold and trying to shove him off. Bear or not, Jack was  _ strong _ , barely budging as he was shoved and quickly getting Gabriel pinned again. He couldn’t  _ see _ anything though, even as they tussled it was like he was completely blind.

“I can’t speak about it. Please, Gabriel... I promise I am not trying to trick or harm you.” He let out a long breath and rolled off him all at once, he sounded so tired that Gabriel felt all the fight drain out of him. “I’m... I’m just a lonely man. That’s all. I ask nothing from you but your company.”

“That’s not fucking fair,” Gabriel muttered, rolling on his side towards Jack’s voice, “playing the  _ lonely man _ card on me.” He reached out until he felt Jack’s warm body, hand resting on his arm.

“Is it working?” Jack asked, that hint of playfulness slipping into his voice.

“More than I should let it.” Gabriel scooted a little closer, finding Jack was warm under his arms as he lay beside him. “I suppose you haven’t done anything you said you wouldn’t.”

“I’ll always be honest as I can with you, Gabriel.”

As I can. He’d no doubt been swept up into a world of magic, curses, and charms. A world he and his family had done their best to keep out of, as most humans did. It still found them. Trolls, fae, witches, wizards. All creatures of a world so like their own but so different. Gabriel let out a small breath and closed his eyes, tucking his face against Jack’s shoulder. He’d chosen this, and he supposed thus far it wasn’t bad.

The next morning Gabriel woke to find his bed empty and morning light filtering through his windows. He slid on a robe over his nightshirt but otherwise didn’t bother to get dressed. After all, what chores was he expected to do? He hoped his family was doing alright, and that Jack had upheld his promise to give them enough money to solve all their problems. 

He found breakfast already laid out for him in the dining room, though Jack was still nowhere to be found. What did rich people do all day? Now that Gabriel didn’t have them, he realized chores took up all of his time and wasn’t sure what to replace them with. Just as he was finishing up his breakfast, Jack filled the doorway.

“Good morning,” he rumbled, walking closer to nuzzle against Gabriel’s temple, wet nose cold against his skin.

“Morning. What’s the plan for today?”

“Plan?” Jack took a step back as Gabriel stood up from the table. “I was going to give you a tour so you know where everything is.”

“That won’t take all day, though.”

“No.” Jack didn’t seem to understand what the problem was.

“Then what?” Gabriel thought maybe even an enchanted castle would have things that needed to be done, right?

“Whatever you want.” Jack gave him a gentle nudge with his head to urge Gabriel out of the dining room and back into the hallway. As they walked and Gabriel rested one of his hands on Jack’s shoulder, listening to him speak as he gave the tour. There were many bedrooms, though no one else seemed to live here. There was a massive library which he just shrugged in response to, he’d never learned how to read, what good was a library to him? There was also a practice room of some kind, filled with wooden weapons and straw dummies which Gabriel was far more interested in.

“Do you know how to fight?” Jack asked as Gabriel pulled a wooden sword off the wall to swing it at one of the dummies. “Based on your form I’d guess, no.”

“What would a bear know about it?” Gabriel asked, still hacking away at the dummy.

“I’ve fought in many conflicts,” Jack said, coming over and standing up behind Gabriel. He was twice as tall when he stood up, and even though Gabriel knew he wasn’t in any danger his heart still stuttered a bit at the sight. “Not as a bear, per se.” He reached down gently adjusting Gabriel’s grip on the sword and pushing his feet apart. 

“You could teach me?” Gabriel asked hopefully, finding that now when he swung the sword he could put more power into it.

“I could teach you. I assume you also don’t know how to read, I could teach you that too.” Jack was sitting back on his haunches when Gabriel turned around to look up at him. Who was this person? Bear during the day, man at night, both educated but also a soldier? Or a mercenary?

“Okay,” Gabriel said. “I have to have something to do around here.”

A bear could not smile but Jack did show his teeth in a way reminiscent of a smile.

Gabriel fell into a routine as the days stretched on. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were whenever he wanted them. In the morning he joined Jack in the library for reading and writing, followed usually by lunch, then Gabriel would practice fighting. Yet despite how much he enjoyed his days, Gabriel found he anticipated the nights far more.

As soon as it was so dark that he could see nothing at all, Jack came to his bed as a man. He wouldn’t talk about his situation, but Gabriel had given up asking after the first couple nights. It was a waste of time and energy, and it just upset Jack. Instead he used his hands to see what his eyes could not, and eventually he took it further, leaning in for a kiss which had Jack groaning into his mouth. Poor Jack was starved for touch, leaning into every caress and kiss like it might be his last, it was intoxicating.

As a bear or as a man Gabriel thought he was really beginning to care for Jack. For his sarcastic, dry sense of humor, for the gentle way he touched him even when as a bear, for the way he listened when Gabriel spoke and never looked down on him just because he grew up poor. It seemed more a blessing than a curse that he’d been chosen. His family got money and he got Jack.

It didn’t go further than kissing for a few nights, maybe their hands wandered a little, but eventually they’d just go to sleep tucked against each other and Jack would be gone by morning, as always. But eventually Gabriel rolled over Jack, pinning him down against the mattress and taking the kiss deeper, harder. “I want you,” he growled against Jack’s lips. He felt Jack’s hands tighten on his hips and wished he could see the look on his face right now.

“Yes.” Jack’s rough voice sounded even deeper than usual.

He pushed off his nightshirt then Jack’s, tossing both aside haphazardly so he could trace his palms over Jack’s naked body, seeing without seeing, every inch of him. Jack had scars criss crossing over his chest and arms, a trail of hair down to his cock which Gabriel traced his fingers along just to hear him groan. Jack had to dig out some oil but using touch Gabriel was able to take it from him and start fingering him open. He leaned down for more deep kisses, swallowing each moan that slipped from between Jack’s lips. He wasn’t a virgin, he’d fooled around here and there, but Gabriel had never wanted anyone like he wanted Jack.

When he finally got to slide into him Gabriel had to hold still for a moment just to savor the heat of Jack’s hole. “So tight,” he groaned, head hanging as he pushed in a few more inches. Jack gripped his arms, letting out deep sounds of pleasure. He wrapped his legs around Gabriel’s hips and all at once Gabriel was being pulled in flush, gasping as his cock was engulfed by Jack’s tight hole.

It started slow, but it didn’t stay that way. Soon enough Gabriel was fucking Jack into the mattress, panting into each desperate, needy kiss. He realized, as he lay out over Jack’s body and hugged him tightly as he thrust into his tight hole, that he loved Jack. It was strange, but every day he spent here was a better day than the last. Who cared if Jack could only come to him at night? Gabriel could learn to live with it, he could live never seeing Jack with his own two eyes, he could live with him as a big white bear. So long as it was Jack, he could be happy.

Gabriel came silently, the pleasure rushing over him so quickly it nearly startled him. He pressed his face against Jack’s shoulder as he ground in firmly, pumping him full of come. One of Jack’s hands wiggled between their bodies. He must have been just as worked up because Jack had barely gripped himself before Gabriel felt hot come splash between them. They were left sweaty and sticky, but happy. At least on Gabriel’s end. He kissed Jack sweetly when he finally pulled out, collapsing down beside him and pillowing his head on his chest.

“You’re going to be gone when I wake up, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered.

Gabriel shook his head as he closed his eyes. “No... it’s okay.”

Jack was gone in the morning but he was waiting for Gabriel in the dining room and came over to lick his face. “Uhg,” Gabriel shoved his massive head away and took a seat. Jack ate delicately with his claws and they just sat in companionable silence. It gave Gabriel time to let his thoughts wander. How long had he been here? Several months, at least, though it was hard to know for sure. 

“What’s on your mind?” Jack rumbled as Gabriel stared off into space.

“I was just thinking about how I miss my family.” Gabriel sighed and leaned away from the table. “I want to see how they’re doing, I want to tell them I’m okay and that I’m happy.”

Jack’s ears twitched. “You... are happy here?”

Gabriel rest his chin in his palm and gave Jack a smile. “Yeah, against my better judgement I’m enjoying living with a giant bear.”

Jack looked quite pleased to hear that directly. “You can go see your family. Take a week, after all, you’re not my prisoner.”

Gabriel got up and brushed his fingers through the thick fur on Jack’s side. “Are you sure? Won’t you be lonely?”

“Terribly,” Jack admitted. “But I’ve been lonelier longer, and it won’t be so bitter knowing that you’ll come back to me.”

Gabriel pressed a soft kiss against the side of Jack’s snout. “Always, I’ll always come back for you.”

Jack nodded, but abruptly he got serious. “I ask just one thing of you if you go. Whatever you do, never speak to your mother while alone. Only when other people are in the room.”

Gabriel pulled back to look at him, “What? Why?”

“Promise me, Gabriel,” Jack said insistently, “this is all I ask of you.”

“Okay, okay... fine. It’s not like it’s easy to get anyone alone in that home anyway.” The curse aspect of his life did still drive him crazy. It wasn’t that Jack turned into a bear, it was that Jack couldn’t tell him anything about it, forcing him to be frustratingly cryptic all the time.

Jack gave him a ride all the way back home through the woods and dropped him off at the edge of the trees. “I’ll be back for you next week,” he promised, giving Gabriel a small lick before he turned and ran back between the trees. 

Gabriel was strangely nervous as he walked towards home. He had to crest a small hill and then gasped at what he saw. The hut wasn’t there anymore, in its place was a real stone home with two stories. There was a field of cattle, and workers running around to keep things running. Jack had been true to his word, he’d given his family as much money as they could want and they’d rushed to put it to good use.   
  
Before Gabriel could even make it to the front door he was spotted out a back window. He heard his mother squeal and then all of a sudden she, his father, and all his siblings came pouring out the back door to sweep him up into a flurry of hugs and breathless questions. He tried to hug each of them back, and answered what he could. “I’m only here for a week. Jack dropped me off. I’m very happy.”

He told them all about the enchanted castle in the oldest part of the woods, about how Jack was teaching him to read and write and use a sword. He told them that at night, when it was so dark he couldn’t see, Jack came to him as a man. He wasn’t just a bear. That seemed to make his father feel a little better, who’d clearly worried about Gabriel being stuck in a castle with a bear. Even if it was a bear who could talk.

Gabriel was seated at the head of the table, marveling to see each and every one of his siblings there. Even the one who’d been hurt at the stables. He was looking really good, though he walked with a bad limp. Jack’s intervention had probably saved his life, and maybe even everyone else. It just made Gabriel love him more.

“Oh, Gabriel,” his mother said after dinner, “I need to fetch some water from the well, will you come with me?”

Gabriel opened his mouth to agree but then remembered Jack’s warning. “I, uh, I’m actually really tired, I’m sorry.”

Another sibling jumped in to help before she could ask again. He let out a short breath and tried not to dwell on it. He just wanted to enjoy his week with his family. Every day his mother tried to coax him to be alone with her, but even in a much bigger house, their family was big enough that Gabriel could always find a reason  _ not _ to be alone with her.

But a week was a long time to avoid his own mother, and she finally cornered him as he was coming out of bed on his final morning home. “Are you avoiding me?” she asked him, tearing up. 

Gabriel panicked, they were right in the middle of the hallway and he didn’t want his mother sobbing and making him look like an asshole right before he took off. “No! It’s just been so busy-”

“Gabriel  _ please _ I need to speak to you, it’s important!”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. What could his  _ mother _ say that was so bad? So he gave in and invited her into the guest bedroom he’d been staying in. “Okay, what do you need to say?”

“I’m worried about you,” she said genuinely, taking both his hands in hers. “Something magical is happening, and he won’t let you see him when he’s not in his animal form? It’s not right.”

“I think he’s been cursed.” said Gabriel uncomfortably.

“Or he’s tricking you! And he’s not human at all!” His mother squeezed his hands tightly, she looked really scared. It was a little contagious but Gabriel tried not to sink into that doubt.

“No, Jack is just a human. I can feel him when he comes to me, he feels normal.”

“He could be a troll,” she scolded. “They can look almost completely human! There are only two exceptions! Their eyes reflect in the dark, like that of a cat, and their skin has a faintest blue tinge. Powerfully magical, they can alter their appearance at will!”

Gabriel chewed his bottom lip. “No... no, he’s kind to me, he--”

“He could be  _ tricking _ you! That is what trolls do, they trick humans into falling in love with them and then...well... humans do not live very long when in relationships with trolls. You understand why I’m so scared?”

“I understand... but...”

“But I have a solution,” his mother said quickly before Gabriel had a chance to finish his thought. She reached into her apron and pulled out a tallow candle, placing it in Gabriel’s hand and wrapping his fingers around it. “After he falls asleep, use this candle to just  _ check _ . If his skin is normal, then he’s not a troll. Wouldn’t we all just feel better to know that?”

“I... I suppose...” Gabriel said, looking down at the candle. Jack had warned him... was this why? Was he a troll and he knew his mother would expose him? “Okay, I will...”

His mother let out a visceral sound of relief and hugged him tightly. “We love you, we just want to know you’re truly safe.”

Gabriel hugged her back.

He packed the tallow candle at the very bottom of his satchel and when Jack met him at the forest he greeted him with a hug around his neck before he sat on his back to go home. Jack asked him about his time at home, he seemed to really care that Gabriel had a good time. How could he be a troll? Surely even a troll couldn’t fake the warmth he got from Jack. 

But the doubts lingered.

Gabriel fucked Jack hard that night, he  _ had _ missed him terribly. Besides, a good hard fuck should knock Jack out. They’d been in such a hurry that Gabriel hadn’t bothered to remove Jack’s nightshirt, instead just pushing it up enough to get his hands on his cock and slide into his tight hole. When they were done they shared a few sleepy kisses before Jack was out like a light.

Quietly, feeling guilty even as he did so, Gabriel got out of bed and dug through his bag, pulling out the tallow candle and a match. He hesitated. There was no coming back from this. Should he trust Jack? Or should he trust his mother? His mother was worried about him, she wasn’t malicious, and if Jack  _ was _ a troll, well, if Gabriel didn’t find out now it might be too late when he did. Jack didn’t need to know, he was fast asleep.

He lit the match and held it against the wick. The tallow candle barely lit up the area around him so the bed was still in darkness as he shook out the match and dropped it into his bag. Slowly, heart in his throat, Gabriel tip-toed towards the bed. For the first time, he saw  _ Jack _ . Gabriel’s breath hitched as he stepped in closer and leaned down to get a better look. He was beautiful, his jaw strong, his face slashed with the two scars Gabriel could feel and see on his bear form. He had white hair messy from laying in bed, and Gabriel didn’t see a single blue tinge to his skin.

He was a human.

Gabriel almost wanted to touch him while he could see him, the hand holding the candle tilted and then Jack was hissing and waking up. He scrambled back, too startled to blow the candle out as Jack sat up, looking down at his nightshirt then up at Gabriel with a look of betrayal on his face. Three drops of tallow stained his nightshirt, proof of Gabriel’s sin.

“I...” he didn’t even know what to say, he’d betrayed Jack for no reason.

“Oh, Gabriel...” Jack sounded so defeated as he looked at him. Gabriel wished he’d get angry and scream at him. He wasn’t sure he could handle this sorrow. “If only you’d waited a year the curse would have been lifted... but it’s too late now.”   
  
“No! No, it’s not too late!” Gabriel rushed forward and kneeled by the bed. “I’m sorry, okay? I can blow it out, we can pretend it never happened.”

“Curses don’t work like that... even if you hadn’t woken me up it would have been too late.” Jack reached down to cup Gabriel’s cheek, he was so  _ sad _ in the light of the flickering little flame. “Now I have to return to my stepmother in her palace east of the sun and west of the moon, to marry her daughter.”

“ _ What _ ? No!” Gabriel had betrayed Jack and now he was going to lose him? “Is she the one who cursed you?”

“Mm, she’s a powerful troll and so is her daughter... she tricked my father then killed him. When I refused to marry her daughter she cursed me... but if I could get someone to love me for a year without looking at me in my human form, the curse would end and I would be free.”

“Jack, I’m so sorry. Please don’t leave me, I love you.” Gabriel blew out the candle and tossed it aside before he crawled into bed to haul Jack into his arms. If he held on tight enough, maybe he  _ couldn’t _ leave.

“I love you too, Gabriel...goodbye...”

Jack was fading out even as he said that, Gabriel realizing he was falling into an enchanted sleep. He tried to fight it, clinging tightly to Jack, but it was impossible. When he woke up the palace was gone and he was laying in a soft bed of moss with his bag at his side, and the tallow candle laying in the dirt. Gabriel hid his face in his hands and screamed.

There was no one to blame but himself. His mother had just been worried about him, but it had been  _ his _ decision not to trust Jack. Now he was going... what had he said? To a castle east of the sun and west of the moon. Goddamn magical  _ crap _ , Gabriel was so sick of it all. He pushed himself up, angrily stripping off his nightshirt and tossing it aside so he could change into breeches and tunic.

Like  _ hell _ was he going to let a couple of trolls take his Jack away from him. Gabriel grabbed his bag and set off, even deeper into the forest. This was a magical place, so surely if he found another denizen, they would know where this castle was and how to get there, right? He tried not to think about the possibility of him just starving to death or being mauled by a wild animal.

He walked nonstop, far longer than he knew he would be able to normally. Love drove him, but this place pulsed with magic and he was sure it was giving him strength and endurance beyond his mortal means. Gabriel would stop now and then for water at a burbling stream, or to pick some berries off a bush to snack on, but otherwise he kept moving forward. He walked for a full day and night before the trees parted and he found himself in a clearing. A cottage sat before a grove of trees, all glinting in the morning light as if they were made out of gold. Sitting on the front porch was a woman with hair as gold as her apples. She had one in her hands when Gabriel walked over to her.

“Oh! So rare to get travelers,” she exclaimed when she noticed him. “Would you like to come in and eat?”

He shook his head. “No, thank you, I’m looking for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. Do you know how to get there?”

The woman bit down on her bottom lip then shook her head. “I’m sorry... oh, but!” She got to her feet and hurried around the cottage. When she came back she was leading a fine white horse which she brought to him. “My neighbor might know, Mercy knows the way there so just trust her. And take this.” She held out the golden apple.

“I couldn’t, this is already--” Gabriel grunted as she pushed the apple against his chest. It was  _ hard _ and when he gripped it and squeezed he realized it was actually gold. Its worth was immeasurable and she was practically tossing it at him.

“I know an important journey when I see one!” she scolded as Gabriel tucked the apple into his bag and mounted up into Mercy’s saddle. “You take every tool you’re offered!”

Gabriel had nothing to give her in return but he thanked her genuinely before heading out again. The horse did know the way, galloping smoothly down a path in the forest, covering far more ground than Gabriel ever could have. It slowed to a stop in another clearing where another woman sat on her cottage porch. She was combing her shoulder length black hair with a golden comb.

“Your neighbor told me you might know where the castle east of the sun and west of the moon is.”

Gabriel dismounted, thighs a bit stiff as he stretched and pat Mercy on the neck. The woman stood up and shook her head. “I do not...” before Gabriel could fully feel the sting of disappointment she continued, “but my mother might know!”

Once more he was provided a horse, the golden comb, and went on his way. When he found Jack he was going to strangle him for getting him so twisted up in this magical cryptic bullshit. Then he was going to kiss him until their lips hurt too much to keep going. Another clearing and another woman. This one older, one of her eyes hidden behind a patch. She was sitting on her porch spinning yarn with a golden spindle.  _ Of course _ .

“Oh, very rare for someone to come all the way out here,” she said as Gabriel dismounted and walked over. There was a glint of mischief in her eye. “Care for some tea?”

“No, thank you. Your daughter said you might know where the castle east of the sun and west of the moon is.” Gabriel was getting tired of saying it. He just wanted Jack back in his arms.

She frowned and his heart sank. It must have shown on his face because she stood and came over to rub his arm. “I don’t... but nearby lives the East Wind, he might know. Take my horse, she knows the way.”

“Of course she does,” Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“And-”

“Let me guess, you want me to take your golden spindle.”

The woman smirked and tapped the side of her nose. “Ah, you learn quickly. Smart and determined... I believe you’ll find your way there.”

So Gabriel tucked the golden spindle into his, now very heavy, bag and mounted up on the new horse. The East Wind was a serious looking man with black hair and dragons crawling down his arm. He brought Gabriel to the West Wind, his brother who was far less serious. The West Wind brought him to the South Wind, a massive woman who looked like she could crush Gabriel’s head between her thighs.

“The West Wind says you’re stronger than him,” Gabriel was practically pleading for one of these personifications to know where this stupid castle was. But he suspected that he had one more place to go. “That you might take me to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon.”

“I can go anywhere!” she bragged, flexing one arm. “But... I cannot go there.”

“But you know what it is?” Gabriel asked, he would take  _ anything _ at this point. “If you can tell me the direction, take me part of the way, I could walk the rest!”

She laughed, throwing her head back. “Please! A little human like yourself could never walk there!”

“I have to get there! If you won’t help me then I’ll just keep going until I find someone who will!” Gabriel realized it might be unwise to yell at the Southern Wind, but she gave him an appraising look instead of getting angry.

“Well... the  _ North _ Wind  _ might _ be able to help you. He is...” she scoffed and muttered reluctantly, “he might be a  _ little _ stronger than me. Before you storm off, we try him.”

“Thank- URK!” Gabriel was grabbed and yanked into the air before he could even finish his sentence.

The North Wind was a massive man with his white hair slicked back and his beard trimmed. “Hello!” he boomed when Gabriel was dropped off. “So rare to see humans these days!”

Gabriel rubbed at his ear and took a deep breath. This might be his last hope, though he tried not to think about it like that. “I need to get to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon.”

“Oh...” the boisterous wind deflated a little. Gabriel’s heart dropped into his stomach, he felt like he was going to be sick. All of this and... nothing? “I have blown but a single leaf that far, and it left me so exhausted I had to stay and rest before leaving.”

Just like that Gabriel felt hope bloom in his chest. “So you could take me! Right?”

The North Wind looked reluctant, “I could certainly try... why are you trying to go all the way out there, anyway? That land is filled with trolls, not a good place for a human to be.”

“The man I love was forced back there, I need to save him and bring him home.”

“Love? Love?!” Gabriel gasped as he was grabbed and hefted off his feet like he weighed nothing at all. “Why did you not say so sooner?! We must go! For love!”

Once more he was yanked unceremoniously into the air. The North Wind blew over the land below, Gabriel could see snow falling just behind them, trees waving at their passing. He understood now why the South Wind had laughed at his threat to just walk. They blew over lands Gabriel had never imagined, over massive bodies of water, over endless fields of snow or sand, over buildings whose shapes hurt Gabriel’s eyes to look at too long.

Slowly the North Wind started to sink lower and lower, wheezing as he held Gabriel tightly against his chest. “Oh no--” Gabriel flinched and squeezed his eyes shut as the North Wind dipped low enough to have them slapped with the branches of a tree before he wearily flew higher. “How much further?”

But he got no answer, the North Wind was panting and faltering, clearly pushing himself past his very limit. Then it was too much, they crashed to the ground at last, the North Wind rolling so Gabriel was laying over him when he hit the ground. He wheezed for breath, making no move to get up as Gabriel scrambled to his feet and looked down at him. “Are we...?”

The North Wind pointed and Gabriel realized they were on a dirt road, and though he couldn’t see it from here he trusted this wind who had worked so hard to get him here. “Thank you,” he said genuinely. “Will you be here when I return?”

The North Wind nodded and then seemed to go to sleep. Gabriel took a deep breath and set off down the road, shoulders set stubbornly. If he’d made it this far he  _ knew _ he could find Jack and bring him home, where he belonged. The road turned cobbled after awhile, and with no branching paths he found himself walking right up to a magnificent castle. This was it. It had spires stretching to the sky, built of a smooth white stone and accented with lapis.

Gabriel stormed right up to the front doors but a pair of soldiers blocked his way the second he tried to walk past. “A human?” the one on the right sneered. “Get lost. You’re not welcome here.”

“I need to get in to see Jack, out of my way!” Gabriel was big, and strong, and Jack had been teaching him to fight. But the trolls weren’t like humans, they possessed strength and speed he could never hope to match. He was tossed down the stairs nursing a bloody lip. Okay, so brute force wasn’t the way to go. Gabriel walked around the castle until he found a tree he could climb where he could see into the grand windows into what turned out to be the main hall. And he  _ finally _ saw Jack. His heart skipped a beat. Jack looked miserable, but he was alive. At his side was a beautiful woman, her skin tinged blue, and sitting in a massive, gilded chair must be his stepmother. Also beautiful. Gabriel understood what his mother had warned him about.

Neither of them saw him but he was able to crawl through the thickly packed trees to follow Jack and the troll daughter when they left the hall, catching glimpses of them in the windows. Finally they walked further into the castle and he could follow no more. The troll daughter had been decked out in a fine gown and ladened with jewelry... Gabriel might have some things that would interest her...

He slept that night amongst the trees and early the next morning climbed a massive oak tree to sit on a thick branch and twirl his golden apple on his finger. Gabriel tried to look bored, not  _ desperate _ , as the troll daughter stepped out onto her balcony that morning and saw him. She gasped at the sight of him, but then he saw her eyes widen as she saw the apple.

“Oh! That is... so beautiful,” she said, greed glinting in her eyes.

“You think so?” Gabriel said nonchalantly, tossing the apple up and catching it. “Well, I could give it to you... in exchange for something.”

She gave him a suspicious look, “What would you want in return?”

“I want to see Jack. Tonight.” he replied bluntly.

She smiled slyly, “Oh, that’s all? Of course, if you come back here tonight I will let you in and take you to his rooms. In exchange for that apple, of course.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Gabriel asked sharply.

She crossed her finger over her heart, “I am a woman of my word. You will see him tonight.”

Gabriel didn’t have a choice... he handed over the apple. That night he climbed the massive oak, sure he was going to be greeted by armed guards or something. Instead, the troll daughter was waiting for him, her eyes shining at him in the moonlight, and as she promised she led Gabriel to Jack’s rooms and let him in before leaving him behind. Gabriel could hardly believe it, he’d done it! Now they just had to make their escape!

He ran towards the bed, putting his hand on Jack’s chest and shaking him. He could just see him with the light of the moon outside the window. “Jack!” he whispered, shaking him a little harder. “I’m here, I found you! Let’s leave!”

Nothing. Gabriel leaned down, feeling Jack’s breath on his lips... but he wouldn’t wake up. He sank to his knees, wanting to scream at the injustice of it all. The troll daughter ushered him out before dawn. That  _ bitch _ must have done something, but with no proof he didn’t want to cause a scene. This wouldn’t stop him. 

Gabriel was outside her window the next morning, combing his hair with the golden comb. Once more they made a deal... and once more Jack slept no matter how hard he shook him or slapped him or pinched him. No doubt he’d wake up with some mysterious pains. Gabriel was too frustrated to care.

All he had left to bargain with was the golden spindle, and he didn’t want to give it up until he  _ knew _ some way to make sure Jack would be awake. It was obvious that the troll daughter was doing  _ something _ to knock Jack out before he arrived. He sat in another tree, dozing as he ran through scenario after scenario in his head and discarded all of them. Gabriel startled when something whistled in his ear, nearly falling out of the tree before he grabbed a branch to steady himself.

Sitting on a branch beside him was a blue bird, head cocked as it stared at him.

“Oh jeeze,” he muttered, rubbing his fingers over his eyes. “What? Am I too close to a nest? Was I disturbing you?” Great, he was talking to a bird.

The bird gave a couple hops closer and said, “No, I was just curious about the human sleeping in the tree.”

Gabriel starred. Took several deep breaths. Then decided to just accept it. He was in a land filled with trolls and curses, trying to rescue his lover who used to be a bear during the day. This might as well happen too. “I’m thinking. My love is in that castle, he’s about to be forced to marry the troll daughter and I’m trying to speak to him to rescue him, but he’s always asleep when I go.”

“Ah, she’s been drugging the drink she brings to him every night,” the blue bird said slyly. “I’ve seen it!”

“Of course you have,” sighed Gabriel. “Well... can you... I don’t know, talk to Jack and tell him not to drink the obviously drugged wine or whatever she’s bringing him?”

“Oooh, I get to help on a quest! Every bird dreams of the day!” He fluttered his wings eagerly.

“Do they?” Gabriel asked slowly.

“Make sure to get in tonight!” The bird flew away and Gabriel watched him dive into an open window.

So he climbed the big oak and pulled out his golden spindle. At least his bag wasn’t so heavy. As if the troll daughter could smell the gold she appeared out on the balcony moments later. “Same deal?” she asked with a smirk, holding her hand out for the spindle.

“Same deal.” Gabriel handed it over, and couldn’t believe he was putting his trust in a bird.

That night he stepped into Jack’s room with bated breath. He looked like he was asleep. Gabriel sank to his knees, what else could he  _ do _ ? He was playing in a world with rules different than his own, and he tried to outsmart them only to be stymied at every--

“Gabriel?”

Gabriel shot to his feet when he heard Jack’s gravelly voice. “You’re awake!”

“Yeah, a bird said--” Gabriel threw himself at Jack, hugging him tightly and covering his face with kisses. He didn’t really care what the bird had actually said, the important thing was Jack was  _ awake _ and they could make their escape!

“Come on,” Gabriel said breathlessly, grabbing Jack’s wrist to haul him out of bed and towards the door. “If we make a break for it I’m sure--”

Jack dug his heels in. “Gabriel, we can’t run.”

“What are you  _ talking _ about?” Gabriel hissed. “I didn’t come all this way, do all this  _ shit _ to just leave without you!”

“If we run they’ll find us,” Jack said quietly, slowly drawing Gabriel into his arms. “And they’ll probably kill you.”

He sagged against Jack, fingers curling in his nightshirt. He realized it was the same one he’d been wearing the night he’d left... it was stained with tallow. Three perfect drops. Seeing them made him want to scream. “You mean... there was never anything I could do?” Gabriel whispered.

“I didn’t say that,” Jack said slowly. “I have a plan I think might work, but it’s not running away. It’s playing by their rules.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything. Do I have to duel that troll? I’ll duel that troll.”

Jack laughed quietly and Gabriel loved to hear it. “No... but you will have to do some laundry.”

His least favorite chore.

The next morning Gabriel was hovering outside the front doors of the castle. He couldn’t see or hear what was going on inside, but he knew what Jack was working towards. At around noon, messengers ran out and down the road, though to where Gabriel wasn’t sure. At sundown, trolls began to arrive, chattering amongst themselves eagerly. Gabriel slipped into the crowd and this time he  _ wasn’t _ stopped by the guards.

Everyone walked into the great hall, which Gabriel had previously only seen through the windows. There was a massive feast laid out, and sitting on a dias at the head of the room was the stepmother, her daughter, and standing to the side... Jack. He looked regal in a crisp tunic and breeches, the fabric white trimmed with gold, a half cape over one shoulder and leather boots wrapped around his calves.

The stepmother rose once everyone was inside. “As you know, I have been trying to arrange a marriage between my daughter and this human for many years. Today he has made us a deal, anyone who can wash the tallow stains from this night shirt, he will marry.” Gabriel licked his lips and watched like a hawk as the stepmother handed the nightshirt to her daughter. “You will go first, of course... and if no one else should challenge you, why, I think you would win by default even  _ if _ you couldn’t do it.” She sounded very smug.

Gabriel felt white hot rage rush through him. They really thought they were going to take his Jack away. “I’ll compete!” he said, standing up as all the trolls gasped around him. He walked up front, staring down the daughter as she gave him a disdainful look. “Fine...” she said reluctantly.

A bucket and wash rack had been set up where everyone could watch. Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the troll daughter struggle to scrub out the tallow. She had washing powders and chemicals available, but she clearly didn’t know what to do with them. Finally she gave up with a scream, tossing the shirt into the water with a splash and storming towards her mother.

Gabriel walked up, reaching into the tub and brushing his fingers over the shirt. He glanced at Jack who smiled at him. Laundry was his least favorite chore, but it was the job of poor folks, not the sort of folks who could magic everything, or pay others to do it. So Gabriel used the powders and the rack, his hands chapping but the tallow stains disappearing. It was a magic in its own little way.

“I believe we have a winner,” Jack said warmly when Gabriel held up the nightshirt to show off that it was spotless. 

“NO!” The troll stepmother screamed as her daughter stomped her feet furiously.

Jack took Gabriel’s hand, grabbing the shirt and tossing it to the ground with a wet splat. “You agreed to this contest fair and square, it was bound with magic.”

Gabriel covered his ears with his hands as the two women screamed like banshees, their faces turning bluer and bluer until all at once they both popped like pig intestines filled with too much air. There was no mess, their clothes just collapsed to the ground with nothing in them. Gabriel was horrified, but Jack was looking cheerful.

“I wasn’t planning on that, just a nice side effect of enraging a troll,” he said happily, taking Gabriel’s hand and running out of the castle with a laugh as the trolls still in the great hall looked on in horror.

It was sinking in that the nightmare was over. Gabriel wrapped his arms around Jack once they were out of sight of the castle, knocking him to the ground and kissing him firmly. “I love you. Nothing could keep me away from you.”

“I never should have doubted you,” Jack whispered, brushing his fingers through Gabriel’s hair. “How did you even make your way here?”

“It’s a long story... I’ll tell it to you at home.”

The North Wind was waiting for them, and he roared happily and scooped them both up into his arms before he flew off. He took them all the way home, where the palace was once more in the forest like it had never left. Gabriel took Jack straight to the dining room, telling him the whole story as he tore ravenously into the food laid out. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.

Only once he was no longer starving did he take Jack to bed and make love to him while it was still light outside. They stayed in bed until it got dark, but this time Jack waved his hand and oil lights sprang to life so they could still see each other. “You saved me.”

“You saved me too,” Gabriel said, cupping Jack’s cheek and brushing his thumb over the scar on his lip. Jack kissed the pad of his thumb then leaned in for the barest whisper of a kiss.

“Will you marry me?”

“Fool... I’d go to that castle all over again for you.”

“So...?”

“Yes.”

**FIN**

  
  



End file.
